A Path Between The Stars
by Cherry Blossom Angel 18
Summary: She loves him, but does he love her? Sarah has three nights to find out, or else she'll forget Jareth, the goblins and the Labyrinth. Jareth was cursed and now he has three days to break it, otherwise he'll never see Sarah again. Cover Photo courtesy of Hubble.
1. Chapter 1

A Path Between The Stars

Disclaimer: I have a copy of the movie, something like 4 fanfictions, and a Jareth Plushie. But I don't own Sarah, Jareth, their fandom or anything remotely official, that all belongs to Jim Henson and co.

So it's thanks to my Amazing Beta, Nothingnothingtralala and my Best Friend that this story is what it is today, otherwise it would still be sitting in a folder on my desktop half written, it's also thanks to another friend of mine who, when asked if she would design Sarah's dresses, went above and beyond anything I could have come up with. Aaaand I hope you enjoy, because I certainly did.

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Ch1

"You had Love in your hands."

The woman, who looked like a stereotypical evil crone, examined Sarah's palm. A friend of Sarah's — who before long might find herself _without_ a friend — had kidnapped and blindfolded her with a scarf that morning, which just so happened to be her birthday. Oh _hooray_. She had been taken up and down the city: they had brunched at a waffle house, after which Sarah had been shoved into dressing room after dressing room at the mall with arms full of clothes, until the sun began to go down. At this point she had been blindfolded again and taken to a little hole-in-the-wall-type shop, full of unusual trinkets that claimed to have mystical powers, and plopped in a chair before a psychic, much to her horror.

She had heard the usual gibberish: a long life, wealth beyond imagining, yada yada, and now the woman was quoting _The Princess Bride_ ; this was, so far, _not_ her best birthday. "You had _love_ , and you gave it up. A hard choice, but a noble one; good on you, dearie."

"Ok, thanks, but… I'm done. Jamie, I'm ready to go home," Sarah said. She wasn't a big fan of psychics; they always said the same thing. She knew this because when she was sixteen she'd visited a few, trying to figure something out; to this day she wasn't really sure what she had wanted to hear, but she had never heard it and so had sworn off psychics, tarot readers, fortune tellers, the odd traveling voodoo witch, and a host of others. She had stood to leave when the woman spoke again.

"You can get it back, you know, and see him again. I have a proposition for you, dearie. You can go back, secure the love you gave up, and live a long, fabulously wonderful life."

Sarah turned in spite of herself. "How?"

"He's holding a festival. But you mustn't tell him who you are, or the curse will take instant effect."

"Curse?" Sarah narrowed her eyes at the woman, not liking the sound of that.

"Hush, dearie! The festival will last three nights. If he kisses you before sunrise on the fourth day, you're off the hook. If not, you forfeit your ability to love him or any other ever again, in this life or any other."

"And if I walk out right now, and say no?"

"Your life will resume as you know it."

"What does this festival entail?"

"These things tend to include a lot of dancing. Especially nude dancing round bonfires." Sarah stifled a laugh as she imagined that.

"What are the terms?"

"Ach, dearie, I told you already: get him to kiss you before sunrise on the fourth day. If you don't, you'll never love again. And I must warn you that all your memories of him will be forfeit. But I wouldn't worry too much about _that,_ dearie. After all, 'the King of the goblins had fallen in love with the girl', remember? And besides, what's the _point_ in remembering something that's only going to hurt in the long run?"

"And _that_ _'_ _s_ why I asked. You left out the bit about messing with _my mind_. I won't remember the goblins and I'm guessing I won't remember this deal either, because it relates to him." Sarah leaned on the back of the chair and thought about it. Go and risk memories and love on the chance that Jareth meant what he said in the broken hall of stairs… or go home and do nothing and miss him for the rest of her life. "I can't tell him my name, but what if he figures it out?"

"Just so long as you don't tell him, dearie," the crone shrugged. "Think on it this way dearie, if he loves you, he'll kiss you; if not, then you won't remember that you loved him in the first place. Everybody wins in the end, dearie."

Sarah almost laughed. A win-win situation in which she humiliated herself and then forgot all about it, or in which she left behind the world she'd grown up in for a fairy-tale King and his kingdom! Sarah didn't regret winning Toby back, of course not, he _was_ her brother after all and if she hadn't saved him, then who would have? Nobody, that's who. She'd have missed out on having an adoring little brother to play with and tell stories to. She'd have missed out on teasing him mercilessly when he'd gotten his first Valentine last year. She'd have missed _him_ —even if she'd forgotten him she suspected a part of her would still have missed him. She _did_ miss Jareth too, more than she usually cared to admit. She had been a fifteen-year-old brat at the time of her selfish wish but something Jareth had said at the end had stuck with her over the years.

She couldn't reason out why she missed Jareth; after all, she had only met him the once and he'd been anything but Prince Charming. But as she'd grown up she'd realized that he _had_ been generous, he _had_ done everything she asked, and she'd been anything but grateful. The deal would take away a feeling that was cherished in the lives of those who were lucky enough to find it. And it was going to mess with her memories; that should have been enough for her to say no and walk away. And yet… and yet she hesitated. After all, she was who she was today in a large part thanks to those ten hours Jareth had made her spend in the Labyrinth.

If she forgot him would she change? She didn't want to revert back to her fifteen-year-old personality; she rather liked the person she'd become. But… the whole point might be moot _if_ Jareth loved her. It was a mighty big 'if' but the more she thought about it the more she realized that this was something she had to try, even if it meant waltzing—quite literally—into a masked Fae ball, something all the stories warned was a very _bad_ idea. Love was highly cherished and she had no doubt about it: she loved the King of the Goblins. She couldn't pinpoint when she'd realized it, or even when he had become something other than her childhood villain. But she was sure of it; she loved Jareth. There were days when she was even a bit _glad_ she'd wished Toby away, because it had given her a chance to meet the King she still daydreamed about and it had allowed her to become a better big sister to Toby.

While her mind continued to go in circles, her mouth opened and she said, "I'll do it." A rather dramatic and childish thought flitted across her mind as her brain caught up with her mouth and she made her choice. _If he can_ _'_ _t love me,_ she thought, _then I don_ _'_ _t want to remember him_.

"Make a wish, dearie," the crone smiled. There was a smug glint in her eyes that Sarah forced herself to ignore as she prepared herself to do the one thing she had always been very careful not to… make a wish.

Sarah swallowed. "I wish to attend the Goblin King's Festival."

With a shower of glitter and a cloud of pale smoke Sarah was whisked off to the Underground. Time in the little shop resumed — not that Sarah had even noticed it had stopped.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

The friend, Jamie, who had dragged Sarah there in the first place, looked around in confusion, feeling inordinately out of place.

"Something wrong, dearie? Would you like to have your fortune told? Last chance today, we're closing soon."

Jamie blinked and then shrugged. She was not missing Sarah in the least, her memory having already been slightly altered. She sat down, holding out her hands for the old woman's inspection.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

The smell of magic tickled Sarah's nose as the glitter and smoke cleared. Sarah looked around; she was in the castle, accompanied by a gangly goblin in a footman's outfit. She smiled and crouched down to his level, ignoring the rustle of skirts as he grinned back. The Labyrinth had thought to clothe her in something more ball-appropriate: a dress. She made up her mind not to think about it too much. The whole night was weird; the last thing she needed was the mental image of a semi-sentient magical maze picking out her wardrobe. …Even if it was one of the most gorgeous dresses she'd worn in her life.

"Hello," she said to the goblin, "are you here to escort me to the party?"

The goblin grinned wider and jabbed a thumb at the centre of his chest. "Mildo to announce Pretty Lady at the ball!" he said proudly. Sarah straightened and smoothed her skirts before holding her hand out for Mildo to take, which he did, holding it up above his head as they walked down the hall. Two goblins opened the double doors wide and Mildo escorted her to the top of the stairs where, at the very top of his lungs, he called, "Announcing! Pretty Lady of the Aboveground!"

The mingling stopped as everyone turned to look at her, clapping politely. Sarah smiled and held her head high as she glided down the stairs. She was the daughter of an actress; she would _not_ let these Fae know she was nervous. Drawing on her childhood princess obsession, she dropped into a polite curtsey at the bottom before rising and moving out of the way.

"Pretty Lady of the Aboveground, is it?" a masked Fae man said behind her.

"Yes?" she said, turning to look. He had a good voice, the kind Disney would have for a Prince Charming, deep and sophisticated with a slight lilt.

"Does the pretty lady have a name?" he asked, drawing out the last word with a slight tilt to his head and a smile on his lips. His hair was black as an oil slick and smoothed away from his face, his skin was a golden tan and he had eyes as blue as cornflowers. He didn't _look_ dangerous, but he was Fae and she was in the Labyrinth, where things were not always as they seemed. Besides, he was not the one she was looking for.

"She does, but she's not telling _you,_ " Sarah said with a wry twist of her lips. "Words have power in this world, don't they? Why should names be any different?"

"Clever," the man said, in some surprise. Sarah inclined her head at the compliment before gliding away. He caught her elbow, stopping her. "You'll need a name though; we can't go around calling you 'Pretty Lady' all night. Some of the women are apt to get jealous. They might take it upon themselves to do something to that pretty face."

"Well, we wouldn't want _that_ ," Sarah said with a smile. She didn't _think_ it was a threat, but she'd have to be careful, just in case it wasn't. She'd have preferred to remain nameless, but if she was going to be badgered about it then she'd give them something to call her. Jennifer would do nicely. Her mother, Linda, had had a fondness for names from the King Arthur period. Sarah had once been told the story of how she'd almost become a Jennifer instead of a Sarah. Her father had insisted upon Sarah and Linda had eventually caved. Sarah had never been more grateful for that story than she was now. "All right, then; for the rest of the evening, my name will be Jennifer."

"Lady Jennifer of the Aboveground, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said with a bow. Sarah curtseyed briefly before making her escape, disappearing into a crowd. A goblin handed her a glass of wine the color of cherry liqueur; she smiled, but did not drink it. As she looked around for a place to set down the glass she overheard a sigh from an exquisitely dressed Fae woman.

"He's late. It's bad form to be late to your own party."

"You know how the Goblin King likes to make an entrance; he knows we'll forgive the social gaffe. He is the King after all, and this is his festival—" Right at that moment the lights dimmed briefly and trumpets sounded.

"Announcing… His Majesty, the King of the Goblins!"

Everyone turned and the chatter ceased as they bowed and curtseyed. Sarah turned to look at him. He looked exactly the same, and now he was staring at her; startled, Sarah was left standing until she was forced into a curtsey by a hand at the back of her neck.

"You little fool," the Fae from earlier whispered to her, "don't you know who that is?"

"Buzz off, Slick," the Fae started at the nickname, "I'm not afraid of him." _Or of you_ , she added silently.

"Slick?" he asked, stunned by the new name.

"You remind me of an oil slick on sand. How much gel is in your hair anyway?" The fae spluttered and Sarah grinned. She never got to tease anybody anymore, it was always, 'you're an adult, be grown up and don't accidentally insult someone because you were teasing and they took it the wrong way'. But Slick, who had so obviously never been teased before in his life, was just so much fun that she couldn't help herself; his reactions were priceless! The more she found herself around this Fae, the more she found that her nerves were quieting; she was getting used to being surrounded by him and his ilk.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Jareth stood at the top of the stairs, surveying the room. He was late. He would have been late anyway, with his penchant for dramatic entrances, but he was later than usual.

He'd had a woman come to him that day with an offer. She could lift the curse that bound him from finding Sarah; for three days he would be free to seek her out Above. If he couldn't find her, the curse would snap back into place and he'd never see her again. But if he did find her, the curse would be broken forever, and he was free to convince her to stay with him.

He'd set out immediately, his magic taking him as close as the city in which she lived but no closer. He spent all day walking in that blasted city; how _did_ the mortals manage it? Walking everywhere, it was exhausting. He peeked in shop windows, went to the park she used to play in, even to her parents' house, which had been sold. The new owners were Not Pleased to find an owl sitting in the spare bedroom. He had torn a page that listed the addresses of every Sarah Williams out of a phone book. And then the sun had begun to set and the Labyrinth had begun to call him back, reminding him of the festival he was hosting. He'd have liked nothing better than to cancel it, but his guests would not be pleased; the Fae loved a good revel, and so a revel he would give them.

So now he stood at the top of the stairs, caring less and less about the gathered guests. There was, however, one lady that caught his eye; she failed to curtsey when he was announced, though Drake soon remedied that. Jareth descended the stairs and waved a gloved hand at the band, their cue to start playing. As the band struck up, Jareth swept a redhead in rustling skirts of pale green into the first dance of the festival. Soon everyone else had joined in.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Drake offer his hand to the lady who had caught his own eye, and also saw her warily take it. He watched her intently as she danced. Lady after lady lined up to dance with Jareth, and he used them to maneuver his way across the room. The night was more than half over when he finally reached her. She held in one hand a glass of Fae wine; the other arm was crossed over her stomach. She was watching the dancers, but not with any real interest, as she leaned against the wall. He watched _her_ with interest, though, watching as she spotted him and made a respectful dip of her head as he approached. She glanced at the hand he extended before reaching out and placing her untouched wine in his palm. He raised an eyebrow, before vanishing it and looking at her, eyebrow still raised. She grinned and gave him her hand.

Jareth pulled her close to him and led her to the center of the floor. The band played a tango and so, they tango'ed. "What's your name?" he asked.

He watched as she opened her mouth to reply but then her jaw snapped shut. She exhaled through her nose and instead replied, "Jennifer."

"Hmm," Jareth said noncommittally. She was lying; he didn't need to be Fae to know that, he could hear it in the way the name slid its way through clenched teeth. She was quite lovely, her dark hair piled atop her head, green eyes hiding a spark of mischief and defiance.

"Aren't you a bit underdressed?" she asked cheekily. He was wearing dark grey breeches tucked into black boots, a white shirt under a dark grey vest, and dark grey gloves.

Jareth twitched a smile. She was impertinent, this lovely mortal, but she had a point. A high collared, tailed coat slowly materialized over his body. The outside was dark grey, in keeping with his current color scheme, but the inside was an interesting shade somewhere between maroon and magenta, a matching cravat pin securing a fall of fabric at his throat. "Better?" he asked.

'Jennifer' mimicked his raised eyebrow and amused smirk and agreed, "Much better."

"I was not aware that I had invited any mortals tonight; how did you get here?" he asked as the band changed songs, this time playing a spirited salsa.

"Who says I was invited?" Jennifer laughed as he spun her. "I _wished_ my way here."

"What's your name, Jennifer? Your _real name_?"

"I can't tell you." She began to fade, and a jolt of annoyance and confusion lanced through him. He didn't know why she was disappearing and she was doing it at a _most_ inconvenient time. Something about her intrigued him and he wanted to know why.

"What's your name?" he asked, more demandingly. She fit in his arms comfortably, familiarly, like a memory from a half forgotten dream. His hands gripped her upper arms tightly, too tightly.

She shook her head. "I can't tell you my name; you have to find it on your own." Her voice echoed in his ears as dawn lit the room and she vanished completely. "Good day, Goblin King."


	2. Chapter 2

Again, Disclaimer: Maybe if I wished hard enough? …Nope! Still don't own Labyrinth.

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Ch2

Jareth was left feeling rather like throwing a crystal just to watch it shatter. The way the mortal woman, 'Jennifer', she called herself — though they both knew that was _not_ her name — had said his title reminded him of Sarah, whom he still could not find, despite the curse being weakened. Well, this Jennifer was a beautiful woman that he would likely never see again. She had wished her way into his festival, had she? Clever…

He picked up a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp before donning a glamour and leaving for Above to continue his search for Sarah. He began where he had begun yesterday, this time going in the other direction and tearing off the names of each Sarah Williams as he discovered that they were not _his_ Sarah. Eventually he was going to have to sleep, but he could stay awake for a few days running. He would regret it later, but he was too preoccupied with finding Sarah to care.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Sarah collapsed on her couch, her dress rustling with the movement; her upper arms were sore from where he had gripped her. Had he figured it out a little? Maybe. It was hard to tell.

"Oh, stop your wallowing, Sarah," she instructed herself sternly as she rolled off the couch to her feet. "He'll figure it out," she said, untying the green and gold-glittered ribbons that were twined around her legs keeping her shoes on, allowing her to slip out of her walking-on-clouds-comfortable heels and pad her way to the kitchen in search of a very early breakfast. A smile wormed its way onto her face as she remembered dancing with Jareth, his thigh pressed firmly between hers as he guided them into a turn, his hand solidly against her lower back. Her smile became a grin and her face warmed considerably.

Breakfast eaten, Sarah undid her dress and let it pool on the floor around her feet, stepping out of it and placing it gently on a hanger. It was very pretty, she thought as she admired it. It had a layered chiffon skirt that was just _made_ for twirling and a thin brown ribbon tied in a bow around the waist. The one sleeve and high neck were made of a brown lace-like fabric; the dress itself was mainly green and only came down to her knees. Fastened at the back was a pair of green and gold iridescent wings that looked like they might start fluttering any second. As she admired the dress, her hands sought out the bobby pins securing the two half-buns her hair had been pulled back into. She didn't know how the Labyrinth had managed it but she had really felt like a forest fairy in that dress. She hung it on a hook just inside the closet and closed the door.

Checking the clock, she decided she had plenty of time to shower and ready herself for work, _after_ a nap. She was a book editor and on the side she illustrated for the author of several children's book series'. She'd tried acting for a few years in high school but quickly found that her soul just wasn't feeling it anymore, so she grew up, majored in English literature and got a job at Random House publishing. She slipped on a worn out tank top, set an alarm for 6:30 and crawled under the covers of her bed where she promptly fell asleep for the next two hours. She was going to be exhausted in three days if she was only going to get a few hours sleep and then dance all night, but it would hopefully be worth it — and the weekend was coming so she could sleep all day and not care.

When Sarah woke again she turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up, which could take a while — she lived in an old building. To kill time, and to try and wake up a little, she picked up her fire poker and began to fence against an invisible opponent, wearing nothing but her tank top and underwear. Round eyes watched from the shadows in the corners of the room, under the bed, behind the lamp. She'd taken two fencing classes in college: she'd needed the credits and had discovered that fencing was really, really fun. She couldn't afford a real fencing sword so she settled for a fire poker. Her landlord had looked at her askance when she'd brought it home — she didn't have a fireplace — perched on her shoulder like a baseball bat. He'd retreated and closed the door with a quiet but wary click.

When the steam began to waft out of the bathroom Sarah gave one final lunge, saluted her invisible partner, and dropped the poker on her bed.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Jareth turned a corner into a relatively dark alley. From the shadows he conjured a crystal and tried to see Sarah, but all he saw was an empty apartment bedroom and goblins. Oddly enough, the goblins were fencing each other with makeshift weapons; one had a ruler, the other…a toilet brush. Jareth pinched the bridge of his nose, and the crystal popped like a bubble.

He should have ripped the accursed page from that little red book before Sarah had ever found it. Not that it would have made a difference; the book was a story woven by the Labyrinth, and if he tried to destroy it or alter it in any way it would mend itself within moments. If he had tried to hide it, perhaps by burying it in the woods, it would have appeared in a used bookshop where it would be picked up. Most recently, it had been found by a little girl with an overactive — wonderful, to be sure, but overactive — imagination.

'You have no power over me': that wretched phrase haunted him, shattering his crystals when he tried to look in on her. It forced him back to the Labyrinth when he tried to appear before her, in any form. He had not loved the seven year old with her green eyes and dark hair, but he'd been relieved when she had been the one to choose it, an only child loved by both her parents and spoiled. There had been no one for her to wish away, no need for her to learn that damning phrase, until her parents had divorced and her father married another, begetting an heir, a son named Toby.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Sarah scrubbed the glitter from her skin one last time before shutting off the water and wrapping herself in a towel. Once dressed, she twisted her dripping hair into a loose bun, grabbed her purse and keys and headed for her scooter. New York was no place to keep a car and the subway didn't take her where she needed to go for work, so she kept a midnight blue scooter to get her around town. It felt ridiculously early, due to her lack of sleep, but it was nearing 7 am and she needed to get to work.

Jareth wasn't sure when he had begun to truly love Sarah. He'd come Above when she first read his title out loud and found her acting in the park, her very soul laid bare for him to see as she read the part of the plucky heroine to her dog. Acting was her only means of escaping a life, which, from her perspective, had been perfect until her father had met Karen. He'd continued coming Above whenever she went to the park, and then he began following her home, just to make sure she arrived safely. He'd known he loved her when she ran the Labyrinth for Toby, known it in the heart he had offered her only to have it shunned and returned with a curse.

He conjured a crystal and tried to see her. Even though the curse had been lifted, albeit temporarily, an annoying remnant remained; luckily the crystals no longer shattered, but unfortunately the crystal would only show him the last place Sarah had been, so he had no idea where she was or how long it had been since she left. The crystal showed him inside the little office in the building half a block away. The lights were off and Sarah was nowhere in sight.

Sarah wasn't the first person to pick up the Labyrinth's book, nor was she the first person to believe the story was real; that was the book's purpose, after all, to provide an out for those who wished children away. Once, a long time ago, such a story had been told around a campfire or to children at bedtime, but now myths were written down, nothing was passed down by word of mouth anymore and so the Labyrinth wrote a story, always the same words, always the same little red cover, and always found by a different person.

The few who read the book and wished a child away these days frequently did not want the child back and as such did not become runners. A few tried to defeat the maze but all inevitably failed because the only way to beat the Labyrinth was to become worthy of having the child returned. Sarah had done that. She had wished away her brother, taken the challenge and met him at the end better for having run the Labyrinth; at the end she was worthy and Jareth had loved her. She had already won when she cursed him. He did not blame her for the curse; she had thought his offer nothing more than another trick, another deception, and she had been a child on the cusp of becoming something more. That didn't make it hurt any less when it happened, but it was something, he supposed.

Jareth was suddenly _quite_ finished with chasing Sarah across town and decided on a simpler method of finding her, by letting her come to him. From the shadows he conjured a new crystal and called up the last address on his telephone book page. The apartment swam to the front of the crystal and he recognized it as the one he'd seen earlier when he'd tried to look in on her. With a shower of glitter he found himself on her street corner. From there he snuck his way into her living room. He gave himself a quick tour. The fencing goblins had gone, likely back to the Underground, and the apartment was quiet. He glanced through a sketchbook on her desk; drawings of goblins and other beasties, the drawings were goofy and cartoonish but still lovingly crafted. Little sketches of him lurked in corners, ranging from memory-accurate to caricatures. He dropped the glamour and settled himself on a chair by the window, much in the same way he sat on his throne. Summoning one of her books to him, he waited for her to return.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Sarah stayed at work much longer than usual. She was too excited for the second night of the festival: if she went home she would just end up cleaning, or sleeping — but she was afraid if she slept, she'd miss the chance she was risking so much for. She read through the manuscripts on her desk, refraining from doodling in the margins. She found herself humming a song from the new animated King and I movie, 'Shall We Dance?'. She was still humming when the Labyrinth decided it was time for her to leave for the festival.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Jareth paced up and down Sarah's apartment, thoroughly annoyed. Why wasn't she home yet? He conjured up a crystal of her office at work and found her to be not in residence. He growled at the orb in his hand. Someone, somewhere, was laughing at him. He did _not_ like being laughed at.

The Labyrinth was calling to him again, reminding him that he was late.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Sarah materialized in a cloud of glitter in the same hallway as the previous night. Mildo was again waiting to escort her and again announced her at the top of the stairs as "Pretty Lady of the Aboveground". Sarah laughed quietly; she had a feeling the name was going to stick for a while.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Jareth heard her announced from the hall. It was bad form to just appear at the ball, oh no, he had to be _announced_ , or so Hobart reminded him as Jareth adjusted his gloves. The goblin was big on etiquette. Tonight the Labyrinth drew on his thoughts of Sarah and dressed him in a high collared black shirt with a standing collared coat that was pale green, with embroidered silver designs surrounding sparkling emeralds on the inside of the collar. The armor on his shoulders was black, as were his boots and gloves. His pants were of a dark green similar to, but darker than, the emeralds on his coat and the cape that attached under his shoulder armor and flowed down his back was of the softest feathers of goblin birds and dyed a green paler than his coat and lined with goblin silk. Hobart opened the doors and signaled the trumpeters. "Announcing," he called, "His Majesty, King of the Goblins!" Everyone bowed and curtseyed, including Jennifer, this time with no prompting.

Jareth saw her from the top of the stairs and began heading in her direction but was sidelined by a blonde woman in a white, gold and teal Venetian style mask. The blasted woman waltzed him — HIM! Jareth, the Goblin King, did NOT follow _anyone_ _'_ _s_ lead! — across the floor, away from the mystery woman. He could still see her though. She was laughing at him, impertinent creature! Jareth put a stop to his dance, and then restarted it, properly this time.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Sarah watched in amusement as Jareth was forced to dance to someone else's tune; his face was priceless. Her train of thought was derailed as a familiar Fae snagged her around the waist. She made a noise that sounded remarkably like "Ouwaah!", and her dancing partner looked at her askance.

"Hello, Slick," she said, recovering.

"What kind of noise was _that_?" Drake asked.

"It's the kind of noise a girl makes when she's unexpectedly pulled into a waltz!" Drake smiled and Sarah tilted her head at him, her mask— a frosted glass affair with a golden edge and a gently curving beak— making her resemble a curious owl. "Tell me, Slick, why is it you are the only one who seems willing to come near me, let alone dance with me?"

"They did not render your invitation, therefore you are off limits to all but the one who invited you and, of course, the King."

"So why am I not off-limits to you?"

Drake shrugged. "I don't much care about the rules, and you could use a friend; besides, if he decides to bog me for dancing with you then I'm depending on _you_ to save me." Sarah laughed.

Jareth strode purposefully across the room when the song ended and stole her away from Drake. "You returned."

"Is that a bad thing?" Sarah asked. Jareth didn't answer. Sarah narrowed her eyes at him and cocked her head. "Something is bothering you. Care to get it off your chest?"

Jareth looked at her briefly and then said, "I'm looking for someone… she's proving remarkably difficult."

"Who are you looking for?" Sarah asked, her heart racing and her thoughts chanting, 'Me, me, me, say you're looking for me; me, me, me, say you're looking for me'.

He didn't answer, choosing instead to scrutinize her dress. Unlike the short green dress she'd worn the night before, this dress was incredibly voluminous, floor length and white with a short, barn owl feather bustle that extended down into a train behind her. The bodice laced up the front, like a typical medieval princess dress, with gold ribbon and had short, fluttering chiffon sleeves.

Several dances, and hours, later—how many exactly Sarah had long since lost count— Jareth spoke again. "You wished yourself here?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"I too am looking for someone. Someone I met a very long time ago." This time it was Jareth who tilted his head. "Tell me something," she interrupted his thoughts, "why am I referred to as 'mortal'?"

"You age, you die, you are mortal."

"Do _you_ age?"

"Slowly."

"Do _you_ die?"

"It takes effort, but, yes." Jareth looked at her out of the corner of his eye, his mouth in a tight line; he was unaccustomed to being questioned, or at least, he was unaccustomed to being questioned by anyone more intelligent than a goblin.

" _You_ age, _you_ die, ergo _you too_ are mortal." Sarah smiled self-satisfactorily; she knew when she was right and, if the look on his face was anything to judge by, she was right. Jareth's lips twitched into a smile of their own accord. "It would be more accurate to say— now, I'm not suggesting you _actually_ do this, you're more likely to insult someone this way— human," she placed her hand just below her throat, "or Fae," she placed her hand just below his cravat pin. "Or, whatever the hell you are." Jareth laughed at the flippant tone of her last statement. "Well, you've certainly got the smile of a Fae! All pointy-sharp canines and malicious molars."

"And how, pray tell, would you know if my molars are… _malicious_ or not?" He grinned, displaying those afore-mentioned canines.

Sarah gave him a look and ignored the question. Obviously, she couldn't actually _see_ his molars but she was sure that, if she could, they would be malicious. "You're either Fae or a shark in disguise. …Actually, I wouldn't put it past you to be a shark."

Still grinning, Jareth admitted, "I am not a shark."

"Hmm, well, with that nose you must either be a possum—" Jareth bristled and gaped at her, "or… a hedgehog? You've got the hair for it!" Sarah was enjoying teasing him; she'd always thought it'd be fun.

"I am _neither_ ," Jareth growled and Sarah couldn't help but laugh.

"Mandrill monkey?" she suggested brightly. He scowled darkly at her and she grinned. It really was unfair of her to go that far. His nose wasn't _that_ large nor nearly so colorful. It was only that she was having way too much fun teasing him, and was momentarily forgetting that he didn't know her and that it _might_ not be the best idea to tease a very powerful fairytale king, even if she _had_ known him since she was seven.

"Are you _quite done_?"

"For now," Sarah grinned.

"Why are you here, _Jennifer_?"

"I told you, I'm looking for someone. I met someone else who told me I could find him here. Unfortunately, if I _can_ _'_ _t_ find him, I'll forget him and I won't be able to love him or anyone else."

"Why would you make such a deal?" he asked. It was quite the gamble she was taking and it intrigued him; she could see it in his face.

"It seemed worth it at the time. Maybe it still is worth it, or maybe it was a colossally bad idea. I'm hoping for the former." 

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~ 

"Is this," he gestured to her mask and dress, running the tips of his fingers down her ribcage and waist, lingering on the feather overskirt, "a coincidence?"

"No," she said simply. Jareth let his gloved fingers trace the curve of the beak on her mask, the painted golden edge, the markings at the edges of the eyes. She had come dressed as a barn owl; she _knew_ him! His fingers ventured back to the bridge of her nose and, grasping it gently, tried to remove the mask, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, in an annoyed huff, she exhaled the breath she'd been holding.

"I'm the one you are looking for," he said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," she said.

"Why?"

"Because, once upon a time, there was a little girl who fell in love with a made-up King who offered her a path between the stars," she said, as she began to vanish back to her world above.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Alright everyone, say it with me now! We don't own the Labyrinth.

* * *

Ch. 3

He would be early tonight: now _that_ would shock the masses. Jareth grinned wolfishly to himself and all goblins in the vicinity immediately crawled under something. That smile meant their king was _Up_ to something.

Jareth, King of the Goblins, Lord of the Labyrinth, Master of Tricks, Traps and Loopholes, did what he did best, and exploited a loophole in the deal he'd made three days ago. The deal had not specified that he could not meddle with time. So, meddle with time he would and for the mortals Above the day would simply seem to fly by.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Once again back home, Sarah mentally kicked herself. She'd had three nights to get Jareth to kiss her and she had now wasted two of them. She had one more chance and she was _going_ to make it count. She was too awake to think about how tired she was, so she began to plan how to make her last night count, only to find that because she really was quite tired her plans didn't make any sort of sense.

Though the next few hours flew by, Sarah's impatience for night to come made the minutes seem to drag on and Sarah considered wishing herself back to the castle, but stopped short. Would wishing herself to him violate her deal? Maybe. Probably. It was hard to tell. What if she wasn't the one he was looking for? Would wishing _him_ to _her_ violate her deal? "Of course not!" Sarah answered herself out loud. But, what if it did? She didn't want to forget; it was a stupid deal to get involved in, what had she been _thinking_?

She sat down on the couch with a huff, not bothering to remove her mask and dress. It _was_ Saturday after all — though she did take off the feather bustle, just so she didn't ruin it. The goblins watched from under her furniture as she sat down, then stood up and paced back and forth, occasionally muttering to herself, before sitting back down again.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Jareth was contemplating speeding time along even faster; the day just wasn't passing quickly enough. However, he _couldn't_ speed it up much more or else he'd risk attracting someone's unwanted notice. He could restart entire days easily, humans just wrote it off as déjà vu, but, ironically enough, when a large collection of them felt the day went by _too_ quickly, they got suspicious.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Sarah chose that moment to get up and look at a clock. It was only nine in the morning. She groaned and flopped dramatically back on the couch. Then she began to think like a goblin, and she smiled ferociously.

"Pretty Lady is smiling like King!" one goblin whispered to another, who nodded frantically.

"Scary."

"Oh, Goblins… come out, come out, where ever you are!" she sing-songed. "I know you're watching me, you usually are."

The goblins stayed resolutely put. Sarah rolled off the couch and onto her feet, her dress crinkling and rustling in protest. She walked to the kitchen where she dragged out and opened a box left over from Toby's last birthday: he'd claimed he was too old for Silly String, but within minutes she'd had him and his friends shrieking like gremlins. "If you help me, I'll let you play with this stuff in the ballroom tonight!" She shook one brightly colored can and pushed down on the button, letting out a short stream of silly string. Then she waited. Sure enough, the goblins came running. Tempted by the promise of mischief, they couldn't resist. Plus, they liked Sarah.

"Pretty Lady want _goblin_ help?"

"I do. I want you to find and bring me your King. I don't care how you get him here, feel free to be creative." The goblins looked at each other and smiled. The King never explicitly allowed them to get _creative_. Sarah looked at them as they vanished and wondered exactly who had smiled that familiar, pointy smile first.

If she had gone into her room she'd have discovered that the entire contents of her underwear drawer had been filched.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Jareth's impatient pacing was interrupted by the sound of goblins talking loudly, and… backwards. He paused, looked over, and saw one particularly chatty goblin standing there wearing a pair of …ladies' panties? The goblin stopped chatting and grinned before taking off down the hall. Jareth, curious and a little disturbed, followed, only to find another goblin wearing a bright red bra. This goblin, too, took off, leading him to another and another and another before eventually recycling goblins. They were taking him somewhere, he distantly realized as he followed. They took him through a set of doors that led wherever the goblins desired and when he stepped through, he felt two goblins take his hands and another four latch onto his feet.

As the blinding light and glitter cleared he heard a voice he'd come to know quite well over the past two nights.

"You little _scamps_!" She sounded both amused and horrified to discover that the goblins had stolen her underwear. "Oh well, I suppose I deserve that, I did say be creative. …But _still_!"

"We brought King like you said!"

"I suppose I should be grateful you didn't put my underwear on _him_ …" he heard her muse to herself. "Hello, Goblin King," she greeted as his eyes adjusted to the new lighting. It was her; it was _really_ her! She'd been right in front of him the whole time and he hadn't known.

"Hello, _Sarah,_ " Jareth grinned— and before she had time to do more than blink he had her pinned between him and the counter and was kissing her. He felt her shock wear off as she kissed him back. He slid his hand up her neck and into her hair where he found the ribbon holding her mask on. He untied it and pulled away from her to take it off with his other hand before setting it gently on the counter.

"Hi," she grinned and he could feel the last vestiges of the curse falling away, like cobwebs.

"Found you, Precious."

"Took you long enough; another day and I'd have forgotten. Admittedly, I still can't figure out why it took _thirteen years_ for you to come find me," she said.

"Honestly, Sarah, did you really think your words at the end of the Labyrinth meant nothing? And to think you thought so little of _my_ words." He tsked. "What a pity."

"Honestly, Jareth, you really think I was a great mind reader at fifteen?" she said, mimicking his tone. He laughed and she kissed him. "Alright, ok, if we stand around here all day I'll never get anything done. So, you go back to your castle at the center of the Labyrinth and I will see you tonight."

"It took me thirteen years to see you again, I'm not leaving now," Jareth growled.

"Alright, fine, if you want to come do errands with me and be absolutely bored out of your skull, you can. I warn you though, I don't have a car and my scooter doesn't hold two people easily…" she grinned.

" _Sarah_ …"

"Jareth, go back to your castle, play with your goblins and costumes, _forget about the Precious,"_ she laughed, and kissed him before trying to worm her way out of the circle of his arms. He conjured a crystal and let it dance over his fingers before pressing it to her chest. It was warm, even through his glove he could feel the comforting warmth it radiated. Sarah watched him, green eyes staring into blue.

He held the former crystal out for her to see. The crystal had changed into a silver heart and in the center was a gold disc, the pattern matching the one on his own pendant. It hung on a leather thong around her neck; he watched as Sarah took the pendant from his palm and as she lifted his, bringing them together. The two pendants clicked into place like puzzle pieces. "Stay with me, Sarah. Until the world falls down, it's only forever…" he said softly as she let go, the pendants remaining hooked together between them.

"Not long at all," she promised. And then he left.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

No longer connected to its mate, her pendant fell solidly against her chest and a layer of glitter coated everything Jareth had touched. Sarah turned to collect her mask, only to find that Jareth had taken it with him. She went to her room to change and found her underwear drawer open and empty.

"I'm never going to be able to look at a goblin the same way again…" After shimmying out of her dress, Sarah dragged a small suitcase from her closet and began to pack. In went her books, pictures, the two dresses she'd worn so far to the ball, her sketchbook, her favorite t-shirt and jeans and a few other things that she wouldn't be able to live without in the Underground. Then, dressed in only the shift from under her dress, she crawled under the covers of her bed and finally fell asleep.

When she woke five hours later feeling a little better rested, she changed clothes and went to visit Toby. They goofed around for the rest of the day… and then she told him about how a spoiled girl met a fairytale King.

"It had been two days after the girl's fifteenth birthday," she said, "and she was feeling abused by a seemingly uncaring stepmother and a screaming baby brother and she said her right words, wishing the boy away to the goblins." Toby listened with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide as Sarah told her story.

"Now, being a temperamental teenager with an overactive imagination, the girl assumed that the goblins would do something _terrible_ to the baby and so she challenged the King and his twisting Labyrinth. She was given thirteen hours in which to solve it, or the King would keep the baby for ever and ever and ever and turn him into a _goblin_!" Sarah stood and used her whole body to describe the friends she'd made and how they made their way through the ever-changing maze, "…and eventually after _dangers_ _untold_ and _hardships_ _unnumbered_ , the girl and her friends arrived at the castle _beyond_ the goblin city to take back the child that had been stolen!"

Sarah paused for effect before continuing, "Of course, the King had only done as the girl had asked," she reminded Toby, "and he would bear her no ill will. He returned her and her brother to their own world. She would meet the King again, though— eventually— and she would go to live with him in his castle at the center of the Labyrinth for all time."

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

"You'll come visit me? Sometimes?" Toby asked, picking her pendant up off her t-shirt. He turned the heart over in his hands, not looking her in the eye. He remembered the fantastical stories she'd told him and he'd never told her or their parents but if he looked out of the corner of his eye he could see the goblins Sarah told him about. Between the goblins and Sarah's stories, he put two and two together; _Sarah_ was the girl in the story and she was leaving. She'd left before, but that was for college and she'd still been in the same state so he'd been able to see her almost whenever he wanted. Now though, she was leaving _forever_ and he was going to miss her. "You will visit… won't you?"

Sarah grinned and gave him a hug. "Of course I will! Should you need me, just stand in front of your mirror and call. I will _always_ come, so, should you need me…"

"I'll call," Toby said, hugging her back.

~~~~~~J/S~~~~~~

Just before the sun began to set, Sarah returned Toby to his parents' house and left him her scooter for when he was old enough to learn to drive. She had to tell their dad and Karen that she was getting a new one but didn't want to get rid of the old one. It was a blatant lie, but one they seemed to accept. She was going to miss them. For a brief moment, she considered telling them the truth and then she reconsidered. If she told them the truth, they would either think she was kidding or crazy; besides, how does one explain that they are trading mortal life for a fairy-tale in a kingdom not on anyone's map? To be completely honest, she was having a hard time explaining it to _herself_. It was a bit of a daunting thought.

There were things in this world she was going to miss. She'd miss her illustrating, though she might be able to do that from the Underground— she'd have to ask Jareth about the mail system, assuming that there was one— she wouldn't miss having to pay rent, though. She would miss Toby. But she would visit often, whether he called for her or not. She was going to miss them and part of her wished she could tell at least her dad about where she was going, because she was just a little nervous about leaving the world she'd grown up in for one where she'd be royalty. But instead of breaking down and explaining everything she just smiled and bade them all goodnight. She hugged her parents and Toby one last time before she left the house and walked down the block.

From there the Labyrinth once again transported her to the ball, but instead of a goblin waiting for her, it was Jareth. She'd half expected him to wear the same blue coat as when they'd danced during her run, but instead he wore the red velvet shirt from the stair room. She'd always found it a rather kingly outfit, with its black armored vest and the cords that snaked up his arms from under his gloves.

Jareth offered Sarah his arm and guided her down the hall. "And what are you tonight, love?" he asked as he escorted her down the stairs.

"I thought I'd come as myself this time," Sarah shrugged as she looked down at herself for the first time. Her dress tonight was completely unlike anything she'd ever worn before. It was form fitting and slinky as hell, made of midnight blue velvet and lined with goblin silk. A jagged-edged, diaphanous silver cape attached to the neckline of her dress with thin silver chains. It fluttered in a non-existent breeze behind her and sparkled as though dusted with stars. Three crystal balls hung on another silver chain slung low around her hips. The dress pooled behind her in a slight train. It was nothing like the owl-feather train from the night before; this was elegant and sophisticated, with something sexy lurking _just_ out of sight. Her hair was curled over one shoulder and pinned in place with silver sparkles — showing off the low, _low_ back of her dress. The silver pendant Jareth had given her glinted against the dark fabric, its new weight against her chest quickly becoming familiar. "Not a Princess, but a Queen," she said, looking back up at him.

As the doors opened Jareth grinned wolfishly, capturing her face in his hands and kissing her again. Amidst the applause of the guests, Mildo called out over the trumpets:

"Announcing the Lord and Lady of the Labyrinth, King and _Queen_ of the Goblins!"

The End


End file.
